Gonzalo Vina reported on Degrees of Debt for the Financial Times Personal Finance pages.

Students in England graduate with higher debts, on average, than their peers in any other English-speaking country, including the US.

A study carried out by the Sutton Trust, a group that campaigns for greater social mobility, showed the poorest British students run up debts in excess of £50,000 after completing their degrees. But students do benefit from state-sponsored loans where repayments are linked to how much they subsequently earn.

Students will typically face debts of £44,500 following the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees and loans for living expenses of at least £5,330, the Sutton Trust said.

Read a fuller report by Gonzalo Vina published in Thursday’s FT here (£)